


Girl-Crush

by mothboys



Category: Mean Girls (2004), Mean Girls - Richmond/Benjamin/Fey
Genre: Autistic Cady Heron, F/F, cady is bi, cw: homophobia, janis is a lesbian, she's like deffo got aspergers thanks 4 coming to my tedtalk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-04
Packaged: 2019-11-07 21:12:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17968133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mothboys/pseuds/mothboys
Summary: Cady finds herself Stupid with Love - the person she just happens to be in love with is her best friend - Janis.





	1. Miss Communication

**Author's Note:**

> hey find me on tumblr: buffysumnners 
> 
> first time writing for Mean Girls so be kind but constructive!

Cady Heron had been at North Shore High School for approximately three weeks and she was finding herself struggling with fitting in. She had the Plastics, she had Janis and Damian, but finding herself trapped in between the two social groups had left her, well, anxious. Growing up in Africa stunted a vast majority of her ability to socialize like a ‘normal’ teen and she found herself getting lost when it came to interacting with the Plastics. Social cues weren’t her friends.

 

“Cady,” Regina half-sang out, catching the redhead’s attention. Cady whipped her head back toward the apex predator, focusing in on what she was saying, “You’ve been here for like forever – who do you like?” Cady raised a brow, trying to grasp a full understanding of what Regina was asking, “I mean you guys are my friends?” Karen piped up thanks to the conversation shifting to one of her favorite topics – boys, “No, Cady, cute guys!” This is where Cady found herself tripping up, every sign that pointed to fitting in pointed toward liking boys, but she was struggling with the ‘liking’ part. “I still don’t really know anyone yet…” She said, offering a laugh.

 

Cady had done what her parents had always said to do when she was unsure about something – research. So, she did, Google now turning into one of her closest friends. She knew Damian was pretty open about being gay and he’d be okay with it, but it still made her skin want to crawl when she was with the Plastics. Eventually, she ran across the word ‘bisexual’ and found herself finally able to breathe. She knew she liked guys enough, but she currently found herself, yet again, stupid with love.

 

Janis Sarkisian – her Goth, tall, snarky, and beautiful best friend made Cady’s stomach do somersaults. She knew she had a massive-life-ruining crush on Janis but she wasn’t about to say that to Regina. Having a crush on a girl was incriminating enough, but a crush on Janis? The girl she outed? Absolutely not. “Boring,” Regina commented, pulling her phone back up to her face and scrolling through her Instagram before letting out a laugh and holding her phone out to Cady, “Look at what the big lesbo posted.” Cady carefully took the phone, still nervous at the whole concept of ‘giant slab of expensive glass’ and glanced over it. Janis had posted a photo of a painting she had done that was basically of a vagina – a mouth with braces tilted onto its side all the colors very indicative and almost anatomically correct. Cady thought it was pretty – the painting that was – Janis was so incredibly good at art.

 

Not allowing herself another second to admire the painting she handed the phone back to Regina and carefully spoke, “You follow Janis?” Regina laughed, giving a quick retort, “It’s just to keep track of that art-freak. She’s _so_ gross.” Cady tensed slightly and replied, “Oh, okay.” Playing dumb with the Plastics had been the smartest thing she had ever done; they underestimated Cady, which had been working toward the plan Janis and Damian came up with. She just had to infiltrate the Plastics and breaks the clique up from the inside out, easy peasy. The bell rang, indicating lunch had come to a close and that Cady could finally breathe – the only reprieve she had from Regina and her wrath being the passing period they had between classes.

 

Naturally, Cady made her way over to Janis and Damian. Janis was draped across Damian, who had been methodically weaving her hair into small individual braids for an hour. “Hey Caddy,” Janis said with a grin, sitting up and dismantling all of Damian’s hard word. He released an over-dramatic huff but turned his attention to the anxious redhead in front of him, “So what was that all about?” Cady blew a quick breath out her mouth, buzzing her lips slightly and offered a shrug, “Regina wanted to know if I had a crush on anyone.” Janis quirked a brow, tapping her chipped nails on the table as she asked, “Well, _do_ you?” Cady laughed, forcing herself to look away for a moment, “I don’t think so – the last time I had a crush was like three years ago.”

 

Damian shot a look over to Janis, who let out a low laugh. The boy spoke, standing and pressing his hands against Cady’s shoulders, “The lady doth protest too much - spill.” Cady groaned, thoroughly embarrassed, “Damiaaaaaaan.” Janis intervened, hitting the boy with a playful smack, ignoring the light scoff that emitted from him and continued to speak, “We’re your friends Caddy, it’s not like we’ll kill you over a crush.” Cady ran her teeth through her lips and shrugged trying so desperately to not sound defensive, “It’s not really anyone – I think some people are cute, _sure,_ but I wouldn’t call anything a crush.” The second bell rang, indicating Cady had to get to class or she would be in huge trouble. Cady gave a wave and spoke; “I’ll see you guys in art?” The other two each gave small waves as they stood and prepared to get to class.

 

“Who do you think Cady likes?” Janis asked, trying to keep all excitement out of her voice. Damian kept a straight face as he turned to face Janis, “Regina George.” Janis gave him a small shove, rolling her eyes, while he giggled at his own god-awful joke. “You’re awful, you know that?” Janis asked, a smile quirking up on her lips. “But you love me!” Damian quickly added, lacing his arm with Janis’s.

 

Cady hated gym, so she was incredibly thankful when it ended. She also hated changing in front of everyone else and found herself always the first one done – it just made her self-conscious. Grabbing her backpack from her gym locker, she quickly retreated from the Plastics, making her way to the art room where she found Janis already thoroughly focused on a painting. She hated the butterflies that Janis made stir inside her – she didn’t want to lose her best friend over a stupid crush. Nevertheless, she approached Janis, a goofy smile slapped across her face. “Hey,” She greeted, nervously taking a seat next to the other girl. “Hey, Cady-Lady,” Janis replied, tearing her focus from her painting for a moment.

 

A comfortable silence fell over the pair, Cady simply watching Janis dutifully painting in, if you asked Cady, the beautiful Technicolor way she always did. “I got into this competition, it’s in November if you want to go?” Janis asked, returning her attention over to Cady. “It’s like super hard to get into and it’d be cool if you came.” Cady’s smile somehow increased and she nodded, thrilled that Janis wanted her there, “Is that what you’re working on now? I would _love_ to come.” Janis gave Cady a small smile as she sat her brush down and dug into her sketchbook and held the drawing out to her, “This is what it’s going to look like when I’m finished.” The sketch was a picture of the three of them laughing, an arm from both Janis and Damian thrown over Cady’s shoulder. Cady carefully took the sketchbook, treating it with almost bible-like reverence, as her eyes scanned the Prismacolor coated page.

 

“This is really good, Janis,” Cady said, picking her head back up with a smile. Janis gave a sideways grin as she took the sketchbook back and returned to painting, “Uh, thanks.” Damian entered the classroom in an outfit that was a performance within itself – a bright pink sequined vest and a bowler hat. To be fair, it _was_ his show choir uniform. “Hello art gays – Cady” Damian greeted the room as he waltzed over to Janis and Cady. Cady gave him a small nod in acknowledgment and moved to pull her own painting out from the drying rack. Letting out a disgruntled sigh as she looked at her work she hunched her shoulders thoroughly regretting picking up this independent study. Janis shot a glance over to her and asked, “You okay?”

 

“Frustrated – I’m so bad at this,” Cady explained gesturing toward the vague shapes and mismatched colors on her canvas. Janis set her brush down and moved closer as Damian brought his legs up to rest on the table, begrudgingly doodling in his sketchbook. “It’s not _that_ bad,” Janis spoke, knocking shoulders with Cady. “Do you know anything about complementary colors?” She asked turning her head away from the canvas. Cady shook her head and bit her lip, speaking very quickly, “I know that there are complimentary colors but I don’t know how to, um, use them.” Janis pursed her lips and began to rummage flip through her sketchbook until she got to a page with different blocks of colors scattered across it.

 

Janis held the page out toward Cady and began to explain how to blend the colors – or something like that. Cady was distracted by the closeness of the other girl – she smelled like pressed flowers and the warmth from her body was electric, causing Cady to relax back into her as she spoke. Janis looked up at Cady who immediately gave a small nod, her heart skipping a tiny beat as they made eye contact for a brief moment. Janis, somehow, was already coated in paint; speckles of it caked her face like freckles while a few splatters found its way onto her hair and sleeves of her jacket. The period ended after Cady spent the vast majority of it attempting to follow along with Janis’s instructions but ultimately finding herself too disgustingly love-struck to fully pay attention.

 

The last period of the day went by quickly for Cady – AP Calculus being her favorite subject. The first week of school she had made friends with the boy that sat in front of her, Aaron, and they had been steady competition for the highest grade in the class. In addition to their intellectual sparring in class, Aaron was just a cool person! It really thrilled Cady that there was another person that was capable of being just a kind person, unlike the Plastics. Cady tore herself from the classroom as the final bell rang out. “See you later,” She said, waving to Aaron who gave a huge smile and waved back. Looking after him as he walked down the hall she turned to find herself face to face with Janis.

 

Cady let out a yelp, collapsing into the girl in front of her, “Oh my god.” Janis let out a low chuckle and nodded her head toward the boy down the hall, “So how’s your boyfriend?” Straightening herself up, Cady gave a shove to the taller and spoke, “He’s just a friend.” Janis let out a soft scoff and replied, “I don’t know Caddy – he seems pretty into you.” Cady took a step back, grasping at the straps on her backpack admitting, “I’m kind of into someone else.” A sly smile crept up Janis’ face as she took a step closer, wrapping an arm around Cady, and began to lead her out of the school, “So you _do_ have a crush on someone.” The redhead bit her lip, trying to keep the extremely obvious anxiety off of her face as she spoke, “Okay, so maybe I do but it’s not like a big deal crush or anything,” She released a huff and continued, “Just a crush.”

 

“You’re not gonna tell me who it is, are you?” Janis asked, squeezing Cady’s shoulder. Cady turned beet red – both thrilled at the concept of any physical contact with Janis, but also feeling as if there was no way out of telling Janis. “You’ll think I’m weird,” Cady half-whined, her growing embarrassment swallowing her whole. Janis let out a chuckle, pulling them to a halt as they hit the pavement outside the school. She held Cady at an arm’s length and shook her slightly, “Caddy, I already think you’re weird, that’s why we’re friends.” Cady gave a soft pout as she spoke, “But _weird-_ weird. Not like ‘oh here’s my quirky friend from Africa’ weird.”

 

Janis rolled her eyes, pulling Cady into a walk again, “Cady, dude, it’d take a hell of a lot to make me think you’re actually a weirdo.” The smaller girl offered a simple shrug, unsure of what to tell Janis, it wasn’t like she could come up with a good lie on the fly. Cady was an _awful_ liar. She blew out another quick breath, her tongue stuck on the tip of her teeth as she searched for the proper phrasing, “I – um – okay – I can’t tell you who it is – but I can tell you about them?” Janis quirked an eyebrow up as they rounded the block and shuffled toward her house, “So like a guessing game or what?”

 

Cady pursed her lips, bobbing her head side-to-side as she thought before finally sighing out, “I guess?” Janis removed her hand from Cady’s as she began to fish around in her pockets for her house key. “If I guess right do I win a prize?” Janis joked, pushing the key into the lock and letting them into the house. Cady let out a half-hearted laugh and answered all-too-seriously, “ _No_.” The pair quickly ditched their shoes by the door and padded up to Janis’ room; Cady laid herself on the bed as Janis grabbed the remote to her TV and pulled up Netflix.

 

“Okay so do you wanna twenty-questions this thing or what?” Janis asked raising her brows a few times in a row while sitting down next to Cady. Cady glanced up at the other girl and asked, her voice feeble, “Do I have a choice?” Janis laughed, ignoring the plea for her to relent, “Eye color?” Cady sighed and answered, “Brown.”

 

Janis pulled up a movie to play in the background, laying herself down next to Cady, propping herself up on her elbows, her head resting in her hands, “Do you have any classes with them?” Cady buried her head in the bed releasing a muffled, “Yes.” Janis let out a bright laugh, leaning her head down to try to catch a peek at Cady’s face, “Dude, we’re only two questions in – it’s not like I’m going to unravel your big spooky secret crush that easy.” Cady turned her head to glance up at Janis, her heart catching in her throat as she scanned Janis’ deep brown eyes for just a second too long. Janis’ brows shot up as she spoke again, “Really, Caddy, it’s okay.” The redhead sighed, dropping her head to the side and gave a nod, affirming that Janis could go on.

 

“Are they in our grade?” Janis asked, adjusting to lie on her side and face Cady. Cady nodded her face growing red. Janis thought for a moment, trying to summon a really _good_ question that would at least be a surefire lead, “Do _I_ have any classes with them?” Cady let out a quick laugh, because well, _obviously_ Janis went to class with herself. “Uh, yeah,” Cady replied, stifling another small laugh. The questioning continued on and on, Janis procuring more and more minute details about who this person was; tall, dyed hair, someone Janis definitely knew, didn’t like the Plastics, and had really good grades. Janis thought and thought for a while for her last question, staring up at her ceiling as the sounds of the slasher flick played over the room. She knew who this was, it was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t quite place _exactly_ who Cady was crushing on.

 

An idea sprang into her mind, it was a stretch but it could help narrow her search just to be entirely sure. “You’re crushing on a guy, right?” Janis asked, slowly getting the words out. It was a risky move for it to be her last question, but she felt confident it would at least reaffirm who she had decided it was. Cady felt like the wind was knocked out of her, gulping a huge breath in she stumbled for her words before finally floundering out, “No, they’re not a guy.” Janis let out a small shocked gasp before a massive _grin_ formed on her face as she excitedly spoke and shook her friend, “You’re into girls? Dude, why didn’t you tell me?”

 

Cady let out an embarrassed laugh, her face all-too-hot as she answered, “I just…kind of figured out that I like girls?” Janis let go of Cady, giving a few nods, “So just girls?” Cady gave a gentle shrug and sat up a little bit and protested, “Janis Sarkisian, your twenty-questions are over so either guess or let me ask you!” Janis laughed at Cady’s deflection, but returned to her deep though, ultimately unsure of _who_ Cady could be into that was a girl that she knew, fully oblivious of herself as the obvious choice. Janis hummed and finally made a guess, attempting to keep a straight face, “That Danny DeVito girl.”

 

Cady let out a laugh ducking her head, as she shook her head as a negative, “Definitely _not_.” Janis shook a little with laughter as Cady pulled out an imaginary microphone and spoke, “So, Janis, rumor has it you might have to answer twenty-questions – are you up for the task?” Janis let out a small snort at Cady’s broadcaster voice and mumbled, “That’s question one – and hell yeah.” Cady gave a soft smile, feeling more at ease now that the attention was diverted off of her. She never coped well at the center-of-attention. It made her nervous. “So, Miss Sarkisian, the world wants to know – do you have a crush on someone as well?” She asked, presenting the invisible microphone to Janis. Janis took the fake mic and spoke, “Well, Caddy, you see I don’t think there are any girls at North Shore who would ever have a crush on me, so I try to avoid catching feelings at all costs.” Cady nodded sagely, internalizing the butterflies that had swarmed so suddenly in her gut. “That’s not an answer though, Jan.” She spoke at the sudden realization, trying to not sound too excited. Janis ran her lip between her teeth and gave the most honest answer she could –

 

“Maybe?”


	2. Eerie Exchange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> our favorite gays (damian, janis, cady) have a weekend together!

Another night, another sleepover; Cady found herself peacefully sandwiched between her two favorite people on the planet, Janis and Damian. She had managed to ditch the Plastics for the night thanks to Regina taking a long weekend trip for her birthday – New York. Truthfully, Cady didn’t get it; it was just a birthday – not even a big one! Regina was just turning seventeen. It wasn’t like she was eighteen and becoming an adult or even like she was turning twenty-one! Regardless, with Regina away that meant she could be who she really wanted to be for a weekend.

 

Damian had claimed a corner of the couch, his legs outstretched and resting on the coffee table in front of him, accepting that Cady had her legs tossed over his lap. Janis sat facing into the couch, with her legs straddling either side of Cady’s body, an arm comfortably laced around Cady and holding her while the other was almost permanently in the popcorn bowl that laid in Cady’s lap. In an attempt to get more comfortable Cady leaned further back onto Janis, who in turn gave her a soft squeeze and mumbled, “Hey, open.” Cady popped her mouth open in reply and gladly accepted as Janis tossed a few pieces of popcorn in.

 

“How come you never do that for _me_?” Damian whined, feigning hurt. “You’re not the person on top of me, you win some, and you lose some. Cady has the bitch seat, it’s only fair.” Janis replied, a laugh on the edge of her voice. Cady grabbed a few pieces from the bowl and spoke up, “Here try to catch.” Damian laughed and opened his mouth, prepared to move and gather as many pieces as he could. Cady, naturally, missed quite a few times, the popcorn rolling to the floor or sticking to various spots on the cushions until she made one final toss that made it into his mouth. Laughter erupted from the group as Cady thrust a hand in the air, thoroughly pleased at her victory.

 

Cady settled back into Janis, absentmindedly grabbing her hand and placing it back around her waist. It took a long time for Cady to be comfortable with touch, especially in such a new and loud environment like Chicago. Everything was such a new sensory overloading experience that she had to truly hone in all of her focus on keeping herself calm. Making friends definitely helped but Janis and Damian obviously didn’t know that Cady had any kind of neurodivergence; they just thought she was awkward because she had been homeschooled for so long. At most _maybe_ that she had anxiety. The prospect of one day having to mention that she, in fact, was Autistic made her stomach turn. Cady was simply desperate for a normal high school experience, with her normal…ish friends. If Gretchen were to get ahold of that information who knows what people would start to say about her. It was a gamble she wasn’t willing to take.

 

Cady frowned, and let out a heavy sigh, in an attempt to re-ground herself and focus on the movie just as her friends had already done. Janis leaned forward slightly, her lips a few inches from Cady’s ear as she whispered, “Caddy, everything good?” Cady simply nodded, tightening her grip on Janis’ hand. Janis was skeptical, but wrapped her arm tighter around Cady and brought the other one to pull her into a kind of a backward hug. She fully relaxed back into Janis a small frown on her lips, as she attempted to turn her attention toward the movie. This was normal, she was normal, she was just watching a movie with her friends. No big deal.

 

The movie went on, a horror flick, nothing too scary to Janis and Damian, but assuredly scary to Cady. She wasn’t a chicken by any means but not a seasoned horror movie war veteran like her friends. Damian was half-conked out, falling asleep with his head falling off to the side only for him to pop it back up to try to finish the movie. Cady let out a small laugh, squeezing Janis’ hand only to find that Janis was asleep behind her. She turned her head to glance at the sleeping girl’s features. She let out a soft sigh, trying to release the fluttering sensation that was in her chest.

 

Janis was beautiful; the freckles, the messy hair, the smudged lipstick. Cady knew she was going to have to say _something_ to her about her crush. It was eating Cady alive to the point where she thought her chest might just burst. The girl under her stirred slightly in her sleep, gripping at Cady tighter and rolling a little so they were on their sides and facing each other. Cady let out a laugh as soft as a sigh and settled fully into the couch, nuzzling into Janis and falling fully asleep.

 

Several hours later, the sleeping trio was loudly awoken by Janis’ father entering the basement, turning on the light and proclaiming, “Alright, kiddos, breakfast.” Damian was the first to fully sit up mumbling, “Good morning, dad.” The Sarkisians had taken Damian in as their own – Damian’s parents were begrudgingly accepting of him being gay – so he sought shelter among more accepting people, which, incidentally were Janis’ parents. Janis groaned, wrapping her arms tighter around the still snoozing Cady, a grimace on her face, “Five more minutes.” Her dad walked over to the couch and gave his daughter a gentle shake. “I made pancakes sweetheart, you’re going to have to get up.” Janis whined finally opening her eyes and giving up, “I’m awake! I’m awake!” Janis came to the realization that Cady was still assuredly tucked in her arms. Cady then began to stir, a small yawn escaping from her mouth as tucked herself further into the couch, desperate for more sleep.

 

Mr. Sarkisian let out a laugh and rolled his eyes ever so slightly, “Janis make sure your girlfriend gets up – it’s already eleven I don’t want you guys to sleep the day away.” A blush spread across her cheeks but she gave her dad a small nod and spoke, “I’ll wake her up.” Damian shot a look over to Janis, his eyebrows nearly flying off of his forehead, “Girlfriend?” Janis rolled her eyes and quickly replied, her voice hard, “She’s _not_ my girlfriend.” Janis loosened her arms around Cady and spoke, “Hey, hey, Caddy, my dad made food, wake up.” Cady let out a whine, turning her head up to look at Janis while she mumbled, “I’m sleepy.”

 

Damian let out a soft ‘aw’ and spoke, “She’s the cutest thing that I’ve ever seen – can we keep her?” Janis let out a small laugh and pushed Cady’s mane out of her face and spoke, “Just wake up for some breakfast c’mon, we never get to have like a whole-ass weekend Plastic-Free.” Cady looked up at Janis, finally willing herself up into a sitting position, thoroughly exhausted and her back slightly achy from laying in such an unusual position for so long. “There we go!” Damian cheered, throwing his arms out over his head in a stretch as he stood. “I’m headed up – I’m not letting free food get cold.” He began a march up the stairs, a hard resolve when it came to getting first dibs on pancakes.

 

“G’morning Cady-Lady,” Janis greeted, her voice still thoroughly heavy with the sleep she wished she was still getting. Cady gave a drowsy smile and replied, “Good morning – sorry I didn’t realize you guys were up.” Janis made a face as she sat up, the bones from her shoulders to her wrists cracking as she moved. “Barely – my dad was trying to wake us all up – he told me to handle you.” Cady let out a breathy laugh as she scooted away from Janis to give her space to sit up, “Sorry.”

 

“Caddy, you’re fine,” Janis stated, pulling her own frizzy untamed bed-head out of her face and up into a quick messy bun. “Are you okay, dude? You’ve been like way heavy on the apologies lately – are you good?” Janis asked, swinging her legs over the edge of the couch. Cady shrugged, her heart going into a syncopated rhythm and offered a minuscule nod in response, “Still getting used to everything I guess?” She began to bounce her leg, the anxiety of being trapped in this situation slightly overwhelming. Janis offered a crooked half-smile and spoke quietly, “I mean you’re doing a kick-ass job – not a lot of people are able to make it a day without getting bullied – you’ve made it two months. Has to be a record.” Janis laughed, stood and offered a hand to Cady to help her up, “Breakfast?” Cady took the hand, gladly.

 

The girls made their way upstairs, hands still intertwined. Damian gave Janis another look, his eyes falling from Janis’ down to their interlocked hands and back up to Janis’ eyes. Janis quickly rolled her eyes and dropped Cady’s hand, taking a seat at the dining room table and piling syrup onto the pancakes that sat in front of her. Cady followed suit and sat across from Damian and reached for the syrup once Janis was done. The teens shoveled food into their mouths in silence, both from being too tired to have a full conversation, but also from the sheer speed in which they were eating. Once the damage was done and the plates were littered with what little scraps were leftover the plan for the day was decided for them – a trip to the mall to loiter around until some movie that Janis and Damian had picked out was on.

 

Cady ran back downstairs after politely excusing herself to get ready for the day, thrilled to exchange her Plastic Uniform for her more familiar flannel and jeans. Damian leaned forward on the table, his head resting smugly on his hands as he spoke in a sing-song tone, “You have a crush on Cady.” Janis quickly blew air out of her mouth, protesting much too quickly, “No I don’t.” Damian let out a soft click of his tongue and shook his head, “Sweet, talented, beautiful, stupid, Janis. You have a crush on Cady.” Janis’ face pulled into a scowl at Damian’s persistence and she again protested, “I don’t – she’s just my friend.” He threw his head back, his hand sticking to his forehead and let out a faux-groan, “Ugh! My name is Janis and I’m _so_ tortured I can’t even admit that I have a crush on someone.”

 

“Shut up!” Janis urged, her cheeks tinting pink. “I’m just saying if your explicitly heterosexual father thinks she’s your girlfriend, you should make her your girlfriend.” Janis slumped back in her seat, grumbling out a reply, “We just fell asleep like that – it’s not like it was on purpose!” Damian let out a large chuckle and grabbed the plates from the table, moving into the kitchen to rinse them off, “Whatever you say you big ol’ lesbian.” Janis let out a grunt and propelled herself back down the stairs into the basement that also functioned as her bedroom.

 

She hit the bottom step when she saw Cady, still buttoning her shirt up and she let out a quick surprised sound before apologizing, “Ah – shit – sorry – just wanted to change too – my bad.” Janis was now more notably keyed up about the whole Cady situation, just wanting things to be absolutely normal between them. They were just friends – she totally wasn’t Cady’s type, anyway. Cady flashed a brief smile and spoke, “It’s okay – it’s not a big deal.” Okay, sure changing in front of other people usually made her nervous, but it was just Janis. They were definitely at that point in their friendship where she felt as if changing in front of her wasn’t too taboo – even if she had a raging crush on her.

 

Janis pushed past Cady making her way over to a dresser in the corner of the room, chucking off her oversized t-shirt, scooping a bra off of the floor, throwing it on, and sliding a black mesh shirt on over it. Cady happened to glance over, not really fully paying attention, but her heart caught itself in her throat was she realized Janis was changing and quickly averted her gaze. Janis threw on a blue t-shirt with the outline of a spaceship on it quickly followed by fishnets, a pair of black shorts and her Doc Martens. Sitting down on the couch next to Cady she gave a quick smile, reaching for the lipstick she had discarded on the coffee table the night before and began to reapply it, using her phone as a mirror. Janis sighed as she finished when a thought hit her.

 

“Hey, Caddy, do you want me to do your makeup?” Janis asked, raising a brow. “Like all Goth?” Cady replied, a little amused at the idea of looking anywhere as cool as Janis always did. “I’ll make you like a baby Goth – not like as hardcore as me,” Janis said, holding her hands up together like she was begging Cady to let her do it. Of course, Cady didn’t have much resolve, to begin with, and gave in, “As long as it’s not too much, okay?” A few minutes and several shades of eye shadow later, Damian walked down the stairs to find Janis, very methodically applying eyeliner to Cady. “We’re almost ready,” She mumbled, sticking her tongue out very slightly as she finished the final wing on Cady’s face. Janis carefully pulled back, screwing the brush back into its pot and gleefully urged, “Okay, okay, done! Tell me what you think.” She scrambled for her phone, opening the camera on it and letting Cady look at herself.

 

Damian stepped around the couch to look at Cady and let out a whistle, “Me-ow, Cady, that’s a lewk on you.” Cady turned her face from side to side, glancing at Janis’ handiwork. She had to admit, she _did_ look pretty hot – it didn’t help that she now apparently had a thing for Goth. The eye shadow was fairly dark, but not took heavy and the wings weren’t as extreme as Janis usually made her own, and the lipstick was a bright red as opposed to Janis’ darker colors. Cady smiled and answered Janis’ request, “I look awesome.” Janis clapped her hands up in the air and stood, “Do I know makeup or do I know makeup?” Damian rolled his eyes and gave Janis a little shove, “Cady is a beauty – as always – but we need to head out if we want to get to the mall in time to actually shop.” Janis stood and spoke, “I’ll go get the keys.” Okay, Janis could drive - not super well because she was still _new_ to driving, but out of the three, she was the only one with a license. Cady was still adjusting to living in America and the sheer quantity of people whereas Damian simply stated that ‘he was too gay to drive’. Janis had protested at that – she had her license and was a proud lesbian.

 

Once they finally pulled into the parking lot Cady was dizzy but kept a brave face as they made their way into the mall. “Can we go to Hot Topic?” Janis asked, a bounce in her step. Damian rolled his eyes and countered, “Only if we can go to FYE after – Arianna released a new album and I’m not about to miss it.” Cady offered a shrug and mumbled, “I’ll go wherever.” Janis laced her arm with Damian‘s and then with Cady’s and took that as an affirmation that they were good to go and led the march toward the store. Once inside Janis let out a laugh and said, “You know Caddy since we’re making you all Goth today we should find you some clothes to match.”

 

Cady let out a laugh, cautiously looking through the stacks of clothing, unsure of how she truly felt about putting on the ‘edgier’ clothing. Damian waltzed around the store, getting himself lost in the Drag Queen t-shirts as Janis carefully approached Cady from behind piping up, “D’you see anything you like?” Cady’s shoulder slumped, shaking her head, “I just don’t think this stuff would look good on me.” Janis let out a snort of a laugh and spoke, “Caddy, you’d look hot in like anything.” Cady let out an uneasy giggle and replied, “You’re better at this than me – can you just help me pick something out?” Janis took Cady’s hand, leading her away from what she was currently looking at and toward the less-geeky clothes. Janis let go of her hand and began to rifle through the racks before finally settling on an outfit to give to Cady and urging her, “Okay go try this stuff on – lemme check you out.” Cady turned the same shade as her hair but scurried off to the changing rooms.

 

She was nervous. Janis had called her hot – Janis had said she wanted to check her out – if Cady hadn’t known any better she would’ve thought that Janis was flirting with her. A few minutes passed, Cady finally pulling on the ensemble Janis had picked for her and emerged from the changing room, trying to feign confidence as she exited. It was just a crop top and a skirt – nothing fancier than what she normally wore, just Goth. Damian had gathered with Janis, the latter now leaning against him deep in some conversation when Cady meekly attempted to grab their attention, “Uh, guys?” Their heads turned toward Cady and Janis dropped her jaw. “Damn,” She exclaimed, her eyes taking the other girl in. Damian gave a huge grin and an over-dramatic thumbs up, “Janis wasn’t kidding – you look _good_.”

 

Cady gave the most genuine smile she had in the longest time and spoke, “I’m going to guess that’s a good thing?” Damian gave an affirmative nod, “Obviously.” Janis took Cady by the shoulders and spoke, “Dude, you look awesome – you have to get this.” Janis took a half step back and reached into her jacket pocket, producing her wallet and spoke, “Lemme get it for you – really it’ll be no big.” Cady released a giggle and nodded taking a step back toward her dressing room, “Let me change, okay?” Cady quickly returned to her normal wardrobe, clutching the items as she exited. Janis gleefully snatched them from Cady’s hands and made her way over to the register quickly paying for the outfit and thrusting the bag into Cady’s arms as they went out the door, “Go change we’ll be in FYE.” Cady, stunned, took the bag and walked off to the bathroom to change.

 

Janis and Damian made their way into the store and began to browse through different records, Janis falling over to the vinyl as Damian perused the pop-albums on the other side of the aisle. “You’ve got it bad,” He stated, pointedly making eye contact with Janis. Janis put back the vinyl she was holding and rolled her eyes, “Don’t be a dick, she looks nice is all – I’m just being supportive.” Damian grabbed the CD he was looking for and leaned over the aisle pointing to Janis with it, “Your broke ass bought her a whole outfit.” Janis became flustered and leaned in closer, bringing their conversation down to a whisper, “She’s my friend and she wanted to try stuff on and she’s still like hella insecure – can I not buy Caddy an ego boost?” Damian began to whisper as well admitting some defeat, “We’ll talk about this later, Sarkisian.”

 

Janis huffed, leaning back from the display case as Cady walked up from behind, her hands grabbing at Janis’ sides as she let out a giggle. Janis, naturally, jumped and spun around. “Jesus, Caddy!” She said swatting at her about ten times in a row. Cady laughed, gladly taking the smacks coming her way. Damian joined in the laughter, fully bent over the display rack in front of him. “She really got you, huh.” Janis accepted the arm that Cady wrapped around her as Cady put up some theatrics that were up to Damian’s level, “Jaaaaaaaan – I didn’t mean to scare you that bad.” Janis scoffed and put an arm around Cady’s waist, “I’m fine – yo Dam’ movie’s in ten we should scoot.” Damian rolled his eyes and moved to the register, slapping a twenty down and turning back over his shoulder, “Shall we ladies?”

 

Janis snorted, gesturing with her free hand, “Ladies first.” Cady stifled a laugh as Damian huffed and led their troupe toward the theatre. The got their tickets, a large bucket of popcorn to share, and a drink for each of them. Shuffling into their theatre they filed in – Damian, Janis, and Cady on the end. Cady didn’t hate horror movies but she was definitely nervous for one she couldn’t pause when she was scared. It was the first time she had gone to see a horror movie in an actual movie theatre. The trailers began with some chatting between the gang about the previews but falling silent once the movie began.

 

Cady…wasn’t a fan of jump scares – they just were something that Cady couldn’t handle. Within the first five minutes, the scream queen was met with the slasher jumping out in front of her – causing Cady to gasp and clutch at the armrest which, incidentally, had Janis’ arm resting on it. Janis turned her head quickly over to Cady who gave a sheepish smile and mumbled, “Sorry.” Janis turned her arm so she could take Cady’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “Are you scaaaaared?” Janis asked in a hushed voice. Cady brought her head to rest on Janis’ shoulder, a disgruntled mumble coming out, “ _No_ …” They continued to watch the movie, Cady occasionally lurching closer to the taller, doing all but crawling into her lap. Janis nudged Cady midway through the movie, “Popcorn?” Cady shook her head mumbling, “I’ll probably choke with the rate I keep getting scared.” Janis let out a low laugh as Cady wrapped her free arm over Janis’ clinging close to her shoulder.

Damian stole a fistful of popcorn from the bucket situated on Janis’ lap and asked while leaning over, “How are you two _love birds_ holding up?” If looks could kill that would have been the last anyone had ever heard of Damian Hubbard. However, he was lucky that all Janis could do to him was glare.

 

The movie finally came to a close, Cady not even doing so much as watching the ending, her head completely buried in Janis’ shoulder. “Caddy - Caddy it’s over,” Janis cooed in an attempt to coax the redhead off of her. Cady took the risk to peek out from the other girl’s shoulder and released the breath she had been holding and pulled herself away muttering a profanity to herself. When they finally made it back to Janis’ car, Cady collapsed in the backseat. “Can you drop me home first? Ya boy has hella homework to get started on,” Damian asked, sliding into the passenger seat. Janis gave a nod in response and spoke as she began to drive, “Aye, aye.”

 

Cady finally sat up in the backseat as she came down from her horror movie fueled adrenaline rush. “She lives!” Damian cheered turning his head back to look at Cady, a small smile on his face. “Barely, that was _a lot_ ,” Cady said, trying to steady her breathing still. Saying that Cady was overstimulated would be an understatement – she wanted to fall asleep or sit somewhere totally dark and quiet where she could just come down from this bullshit all by herself. It was better now that they weren’t in the mall. Janis’ car was about as quiet as it could be in a Chicago suburb. They dropped Damian off, exchanging their farewells until they would inevitably see each other the next day.

 

Janis glanced in her rearview and asked softly, “You wanna sit up here?” Cady quickly moved to the passenger seat and let out a sigh. She was wiped, but was, as always, grateful for everything Janis had done for her that day. A bunch of new clothes – which although they were outside her normal fashion were cute, being her pillow for a good 50% of that day, and not catching onto her enormous crush was also a big plus in Cady’s book. They pulled into Cady’s driveway, Janis putting the car into park. She pursed her lips for a moment, causing Cady to stop collecting her things and speak up, “Everything alright?” Janis gave a nod and answered aloud, “Yeah, I’m chill.” She sighed and let out an embarrassed laugh, ducked her head and continued, “You know when we were playing twenty-questions like a couple weeks ago?” Cady’s heart beat faster, she wet her lips as if to speak but could only give an affirmative nod. “You know when I said I might have a crush on someone?”

 

Cady held her breath, her pulse rapidly increasing, but released a breathy, “Uh, yeah.” Janis buzzed her lips together and looked over to Cady and spoke, “Well, that maybe is a – it’s a definite yes.” Cady’s heart couldn’t physically beat louder, anxiety balling up in her stomach as she mumbled, “Really?” Janis dropped her hands from the steering wheel, collecting them in her lap, and shrugged trying desperately to hint at Cady, “She’s someone pretty cool, but I don’t know if she’d like me back.” Social cues, again, were something that Cady tended to mix up, especially during times of immense stress. For example, when her best friend whom she had a crush on admitted she had a crush on an unknown mystery girl. “I’m sure she would – I mean have you told her?” Cady murmured in an attempt to be encouraging while her heart sank.

 

“I just did.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> janis has some balls am i right lads


End file.
